Three Asian nations to use aircraft to monitor Malacca Straits

Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have agreed in principle to adopt the "Eye in the Sky" concept in September in monitoring the security of the straits, using aircraft to patrol and monitor the Straits of Malacca, a senior Malaysian official said here on Tuesday.

Thailand, which is not a littoral state of the Straits of Malacca, had also expressed keen interest in cooperating with the three littoral states to maintain security of the straits, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said.

Under the concept, the three littoral states of the Straits of Malacca will mobilizes their existing military assets, such as maritime patrol aircraft, to fulfill their coordinated patrol mission, he said.

Najib, who is also Malaysia's Defense Minister, made the remarks after meeting the chiefs of defense forces of Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia at the Defense Ministry of Malaysia here.

The chiefs of defense forces of the four nations are attending a two-day informal meeting beginning here on Tuesday, local media said.

Source: Xinhua